Hey Brian!

Music (And Lighting) Is The Universal Language
 
In this issue of Hey Brian, I thought I’d share my thoughts on what it’s like to attend the Prolight + Sound show in Frankfurt, Germany. The show is from March 12-15, 2014 at the Messe Frankfurt. It’s the largest entertainment technology show in the world. It’s actually two shows in one. Musik Messe is the musical instruments and DJ part of the show, and Prolight + Sound, the entertainment lighting and sound section of the show.

This trade show is bigger than NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants), much bigger than LDI (Lighting Dimensions International), and bigger than CES (Consumer Electronics Show). If you’ve been to any of these shows in the states, you know these aren’t small trade shows. If I were to give it a sizes it would be like 2 NAMM shows, 5 LDI shows, and 3 DJ Expos all on one massive trade show campus. There are 12 trade show buildings; each building has two floors. The Messe is so large that it’s like half a mile across the entire complex. In fact, they have buses that take you from one side of the complex to the other.

This is a very international show. I was awe struck a few years back on how international the show really is. I noticed this one right when ADJ Europe was having a customer appreciation event at the show. Our ADJ Europe international sales manager, Jos Reulen, was introducing me to all of the guests. He said, “Here’s our distributor in Russia, Here’s our guy in Greece. Meet our guy in Nigeria. And, here’s our guy from Dubai.” Wow, what a global perspective. And to think this all started in east Los Angeles in 1985 by two brothers looking for more reliable, and sellable, DJ equipment.

Since then, I’ve kept a global state of mind with all of my marketing. It doesn’t matter where we are in the world. People everywhere enjoy having a good time, enjoy going out and listening to music, and enjoy being entertained by a good sound and light show. I’m convinced that good music (and good lighting) speaks a universal language no matter where you are from.

I always like to hear what the DJs in Europe are playing at the trade show stands. On a separate trip to Prolight + Sound, I noticed that all the DJs were playing, “Put Your Hands Up For Detroit” by Fedde Le Grand. For the next three trade shows in the US, all I heard was “Put Your Hands Up For Detroit.” Just like fashion, Europe is where the trends in music usually start. That also goes for lighting equipment. Some of the most revered lighting manufactures and designers come from places like Italy and France. I’m looking forward to hearing the music trends this year in Frankfurt.

It’s also remarkable that I don’t really need to know German to get around in Frankfurt. Pretty much everyone that’s 55 and under speaks pretty good English. English is the business language of the world. It just goes to show you how universal the world is becoming.

One of my favorite places to eat is at the Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof (the train station). They have some of the best German sandwiches, pretzels, chocolate and crepes. I alway enjoy my trip to Frankfurt. It’s a great place to do business, there is great food, and I have some good friends that I like to visit with each year. Now, if someone could just tell me how to master jet lag!

Here are 12 things I’m looking forward to doing at Prolight + Sound in Frankfurt this year:
1. See good friends from the ADJ Europe office.
2. Since it’s a World Cup year, banter with everyone about how the good or bad their country’s     Soccer (Football) team is. After all Soccer is the world sport.
3. Have some great marketing meetings with the ADJ Europe team and the international media.
4. Eat at least one Mövenpick ice cream each day. Europe has the best ice cream.
5. Eat some great German food: Currywurst is my favorite; maybe some Schnitzel.
6. Get lots of exercise: I’ll be clocking a lot of kilometers because the show is massive.
7. See the ADJ lightshow that Edgar “DJ Etronik” Bernal creates.
8. Visit a vinyl record store in Frankfurt.
9. Visit with all the DJs on consumer day.
10. Learn a few more German words (that includes trying to pronounce them).
11. Get into a tan Mercedes Benz taxi: They are all tan, and all Mercedes.
12. Drive on the Autobahn.

Oh, and get some Kinder Surpise chocolates and gummy bears for my kids!

I’m going to do my best to document my trip with photos on my Facebook page. If you want to check it out, you can “friend me” at: https://www.facebook.com/brian.adj.dowdle

If you’d like to share your thoughts with me about my networking article, you can e-mail me at: marketing@americandj.com

Brian Dowdle is the ADJ Director of Marketing